Chapter 28
Astrid
Day two..
I’d never seen a festival quite like this, or maybe I’d never noticed people actually enjoying themselves this much.
Everywhere I looked, the townspeople were laughing and relaxing like responsibilities were a tomorrow problem.
Even the old people were jumping into games with the sort of enthusiasm normally reserved for kids.
“Did you have a fight with Aeron?” Kelly asked.
Funny, Allen had asked me the exact same thing.
“Did he complain about me?” It felt silly to ask this, but letting Kelly believe Aeron was annoying me seemed safer than giving her a reason to suspect why I'd been pretending to avoid him.
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, an innocent enough gesture to disguise the fact that I was sneaking yet another glance toward the barbecue stand, or rather toward Aeron.
The soft, flickering glow from the grill danced across his face, highlighting the annoyingly sharp line of his jaw as he chatted with Ayden.
And then, as if I'd whispered his name aloud, he turned.
My heart slammed to a stop. His eyes immediately found mine. Sharp, intense, and silently accusing: Caught you.
Heat flooded my cheeks, giving me away. I turned, to the nearby basket-weaving stall, pretending that this lady's craft was, without question, the single most interesting thing I'd ever witnessed.
I hated that I kept looking. Hated more that he kept noticing.
Just one explanation, that’s all I wanted.
He could’ve admitted he snapped at me impulsively or even a simple sorry .
And yes, I would've milked it a little, staged some Oscar-worthy drama, tossed out a few accusations, maybe even let him suffer for some three or four days before forgiving him. But no. He didn’t explain, didn’t apologize.
All he did was pull Kaia’s tail and say he didn't like sharing my attention.
“Attention, Orange Falls.” The volunteer’s voice from the speaker pulled my attention back.
“I hope you all came hungry! Our watermelon-eating contest is about to begin.
Contestants, please make your way to the old oak.
We've got melons waiting! And the rest of you, pick your favorites and cheer them on.”
“Oh shoot, that's my cue!” Kelly shouted, already moving toward the oak. “You better scream your lungs out for me, Azzie. I want your full shameless support.”
“Make me proud!” I shouted after her. Kelly hadn’t eaten a thing all morning. Her reason was, the hungrier she was, the faster she’d devour her watermelon slice.
The first round of contestants lined up behind the long wooden table, hands clasped behind their backs, each staring down at their watermelon slice. Kelly stood right at the center.
The judge shouted, “Go!” and Kelly attacked her watermelon as if it had offended generations of her ancestors.
I hadn't meant to, but somehow my eyes caught Ayden standing away from everyone else. He was watching Kelly, shaking his head to himself, a helpless smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, the kind of look you wear when you're sure no one's paying attention.
Interesting .
Kelly secretly crushed on him. Ayden secretly watched her. Exactly what secret was going on between these two?
The crowd went wild, shouting out their favorites.
Of course, I'd created a Kelly fan club, and our self-appointed President Kaia was bouncing beside me, screaming loudest of all.
If I hadn't been stuck playing responsible organizer, I'd have been competing alongside them.
Speed eating was my one and only athletic talent.
Half the contestants stopped mid-way, laughing or choking on seeds, but not Kelly.
She ate her slice in forty-one seconds, while everyone else wasn't even halfway finished.
I had zero doubts Kelly would win because no one else had even come close to her impressive forty-one seconds.
At least, not until Aunt Dee showed up and devoured her watermelon in thirty-five seconds.
The crowd went wild, gasping and cracking up as she wiped her mouth, dropped the rind onto the table with a loud thud, and walked off as Orange Falls’ official watermelon queen.
Pacifying Kelly was no easy task—she hadn't even been this devastated when she'd scored badly on that soil-something exam back in college.
“Kel, it’s just a ten second difference.” I suppressed my smile to sound sympathetic.
“I was so close, Azzie,” she whined. “Aunt Dee had this whole thing planned. She was definitely targeting my record.”
We both glanced over at Aunt Dee, who was busy snapping selfies with her minions, clutching her prize like she'd snagged Olympic gold. Kelly groaned again, louder this time. Losing wasn’t even the worst part.
It was having to watch your rival flaunt their victory right in your face, like an extra scoop of humiliation piled high on an already bruised ego.
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “There’s always next year. You'll beat her record.”
“But I’m still upset.”
“That’s allowed,” I said. “Now come on, let’s go drown your sorrows in ice cream. On me.”
She hesitated.
“Kel, come on. You’re giving Aunt Dee way too much satisfaction with this self-pity.” I dragged her away by her hand.
The evening air turned cool. People sprawled lazily on the blankets.
Aunt Dee and her minions had secured the ideal spot right in the middle, sipping fruity drinks, chattering nonstop, and occasionally interrupting their own conversations to call in anyone unlucky enough to wander into their gossiping distance.
Apparently, my luck had run out, because she found her target.
“Astrid!” Aunt Dee called, waving me over with the enthusiasm that only three cocktails could inspire. “Come here, come here.”
“Hey, Aunt Dee.” I smiled, nodding to Betty and Lou. “Having fun?” From where I stood, I had a clear line of sight to Aeron, who was standing just opposite me. He was talking to the DJ, his face clouded with irritation.
My feet itched with the urge to walk over and ask if everything was okay, but I stayed put, stubbornly reminding myself I wasn’t supposed to care. A lie I was getting worse at believing.
“You bet,” Aunt Dee grinned, lifting her fruity drink. “You and Aeron gave us the perfect start to summer. I knew I was right to back you, even when some people,” she added knowingly, “had their doubts.”
Classic Aunt Dee. My number one fan when I'm within earshot, and my number one gossiper when my back was turned. Still, I nodded along.
“So, Astrid, you haven’t gone once near the Ferris wheel.” Lou leaned in. “What, no hot date to test out the legend with, honey?”
What the hell!
These three are keeping a tab on my Ferris wheel attendance? I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache brewing. “I’m not interested—”
“My niece’s son is single,” Betty jumped in.
“Recently went through a breakup. He lives just two streets over from downtown. Nice hair, no signs of balding yet! Good teeth, too if you’re into hygiene.
Only flaw is he tends to cry over emotional songs.
” She was already scrolling through her phone gallery.
“Hold on, I’ve got a picture somewhere. Here he is. ”
From the corner of my eye, I felt Aeron's gaze shift from the DJ to here.
Aunt Dee leaned in. “Graham is the handsomest guy in the town, hands down. Lucky you, Astrid, he’s at the festival. Betty, hurry up and call him. Tell him to come over.”
Seriously? Now they were matchmakers?
Graham was okay, definitely not the handsomest man they were selling him as, and besides, my stomach wasn’t exactly handing out butterflies for just anyone. Those seemed reserved for someone else. Unfortunately .
I shook my head, keeping on a smile that was approximately 90 percent polite and 10 percent panic. “Please don’t call him. I’ll think about it later. I need to handle something at the DJ booth. Sorry, gotta run.”
I hurried off before they could push again, or worse, call Graham and put him on speaker.
I was slipping away to a spot where their eyes wouldn't follow when Aeron's “Astrid” reached my ears.
I stopped, pulse skittering at the sound of his voice, but forced my feet forward, pretending I didn’t hear. Unfortunately, Aeron's legs were annoyingly long, and he was right behind me in seconds, fingers gently curling around my waist.
I stopped.
I didn’t turn.
He moved in front of me, forcing me to look at him.
He sank to one knee, and my heart forgot how to beat.
His fingertips brushed down my leg to the ankle. Goose bumps broke out on my arm, goose bumps I knew he felt, because his thumb moved over them softly, slowly, making my face heat with embarrassment.
I squeezed my fists tight, willing my body not to betray me any further as he untied my shoelace, then retied it, slowly.
He rose to his feet, his fingertips skimming that same spot again, as if he was double-checking the goose bumps he'd put there.
Asshole .
What was he trying to prove?
His intense eyes stared at me. “Go now.” He stepped aside.
I sucked in a breath and forced my feet forward. Only once he was out of sight did I finally exhale.
Which was exactly when I spotted Aunt Dee and her minions, eyes wide, mouths hanging open.
They'd seen everything.
Just what I needed.
Day three…
If day two was bad—him kneeling to tie my shoelace, which costed me an entire night’s sleep, tossing, and turning, and replaying every agonizing second, day three was just cruel. Because he won me a frog plush toy, my favorite.
Kelly and I had played the duck shoot game.
Calling my game bad would have been generous.
She knocked over six ducks and won a stress ball, while I hit exactly one, not even enough to qualify for the lowest-tier prize.
My darts flew everywhere: Past the ducks, out of the booth, and even came close to the owner's eye. He’d given me a shooting glare.